The joy and love of Christmas showed up in Lincroft yesterday with Holiday Express volunteers, students of Christian Brothers Academy and special needs clients of Easter Seals NJ.

Santa, Frosty, Elmo, the Cookie Monster and the Grinch joined the Holiday Express singers, including Dr. Elmo Shropshire, the original artist to perform Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer for a rocking dance party at the Christian Brothers Academy gymnasium for 300 special needs clients of Easter Seals NJ and CBA students. Lunch was provided by Jersey Mikes.

For 26 years, Holiday Express has been bringing music, food, gifts, financial support, and friendship to those in need. This year the volunteers have visited over 100 locations in 50 days, bring the party of 27,000 people throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The organization visits the mentally and physically ill, the homeless, the hungry, the physically disabled and many others.

While the live music provided by the Holiday Express musicians enlivens the party, many hours behind the scenes makes each event a success. 2,500 volunteers work in the warehouse sorting donations, packing gift bags, conducting drives, and loading trucks. Each event comes complete with a visit from the Grinch, Frosty and of course Santa. Everyone that Holiday Express visits receives a custom gift bag filled with much needed items such as warm socks, hats, gloves and toiletries. For information on how to participate or contribute to Holiday Express, visit their website here.

Easter Seals New Jersey has been helping individuals and families with disabilities or special needs live, learn, work and play in their communities with equality, dignity and independence for over 100 years. Annually, over 7,000 people in New Jersey with developmental disabilities receive services in programs designed to help them achieve independence and full community-integration. For more information on Easter Seals New Jersey and its statewide disability services, visit their website here .

Christian Brothers Academy is a private, all-boys college preparatory school located in the Lincroft section of Middletown. Since 1959, the school run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools has prepared over 10,000 young men for leadership through programs of spiritual formation, culture, activity and service.